two days ago, i danced my way to the yarn section of the craft store I work at to get some lovely wool to make a beautiful sweater i found in “Picture Perfect Knits” (by Laura Birek, Sheri Giblin) called “Geek Chic.” It was fabulous! Exactly what i had been looking for and yet was not able to find until that book.
well, this was (and is, i guess) my first attempt at a knitted garment that was not a glove or a scarf, but I was completely undaunted (even after the lady at the specialty yarn store i had to go to to get the needles i needed scoffed that it would be too hard.) Well, I set off to work as soon as the book was in my hands. It was so lovely, and fun. I had no idea what that woman in the yarn store was talking about. ‘She must think I’m a complete beginner,’ I thought to myself….as I COMPLETELY missed an important little asterisk telling me to knit 9 rows between decreases when shaping the waste.
But I didn’t realize this until I was about 1/2 done. I had almost reached the arm hole before I saw that horrid little miss-step I made 7 hours of knitting ago. (I’m a very cautious purler. What can I say?)
I had been so proud to show off my amazingly spot on gauge, and how even all of my stitches were, and to day dream about how wonderful it would be when I finished to check the bloody shape of the thing.
blast and damn.
a novice mistake. It happens when patterns aren’t read carefully, and it happens to the best of us. (which I am not, but I’ve seen it happen.)
I think, now, after dealing with the stupid thing, that patterns are not really there to help. They’re just trying to keep you on your toes. little asterisks hiding 3 lines of text above the second one. Mistakes that got printed for one reason or another, that no one corrected.
this is my advice:
if you realize you made a mistake 1/2 way to finishing a project that you love, don’t keep on going and hopeing for the best. It’s a waste of nice wool.
instead, swear loudly. Sigh heavily. Rip it back to before the mistake, (or completely apart, if it’s as drastic as my mistake was) and try again tomorrow if you are still in love with your sneaky little pattern.
In the mean time, you can take your bunny outside for the first time so she can have a run around.
bunny goes outside for the first time
stitchmaster 